The Lions had plenty of shooting-star pass rushers in recent years, from George Johnson, who had six sacks in 2014 and hasn't had one since, to Devin Taylor, who won a starting job after a seven-sack 2015 then didn't play well enough to earn an invite back this spring.

Kerry Hyder was the comet on the Lions' defensive front last year, rising from training-camp longshot to the team leader in sacks.

And while many are worried about a Taylor-like regression from Hyder this fall, the converted defensive tackle has bigger goals in mind.

“I’m not trying to be the same player I was last year," Hyder told the Free Press earlier this week. "I’m not sitting on what I did last year. I’m just trying to get better, and I don’t know how that’ll reflect on my play but hopefully when you see me on the field I’ll be a different player."

Hyder didn't make any dramatic changes to his workout regimen this off-season.

He returned home to his native Texas, spent the summer with his longtime trainer, Tony Brown, and showed up at training camp in impeccable shape and as the Lions' projected starter at left defensive end.

"He didn’t regress in terms of his body structure. He improved," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "He’s gotten better in every single physical aspect. And then also, he’s a hard worker and he’s smart. When you have those kind of traits and qualities, you can anticipate that he’s going to be somewhere where he was before. Who knows how many sacks he’s going to get. Sometimes that may not happen, may not get as many. But I can tell you what, he’s a better player today than he was last year.”

Hyder, who originally signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2014, spent most of the 2015 season on the Lions' practice squad before appearing the regular season finale.

The Lions asked him to slim down and change positions last off-season, and Hyder won a roster spot with a strong training camp.

He had five of his eight sacks in the Lions' first four games last year, when Ziggy Ansah missed time with a high ankle sprain. Hyder's production waned late in the season – he had just one sack in the eight games after the bye – causing many to wonder if he could sustain his production in 2017.

"I’ve learned not to worry about what people think," Hyder said. "If I read and believed everything they say, I wouldn’t be here right now.

"I’m not reading the paper, I’m not listening to people like that, I’m just trying to get better and whatever that is, I’m going to try to get it."

There's no simple explanation for why Hyder's numbers tailed off in the second half of last season, and in all likelihood several factors were at work.

Hyder played fewer snaps after Ansah returned in mid-October and with Taylor starting every game at left end. Teams had tape on Hyder from which to gameplan. And the Lions defense suffered from a lack of impact plays in general, which drove down everyone's production.

So far in camp, Hyder has worked exclusively at the left end position, and with Ansah on the physically unable to perform list, he has been arguably the team's most impressive lineman.

That doesn't guarantee he'll be able to duplicate his production from last year, but even he does, Hyder and Caldwell are confident he'll be a better player overall.

"I can see people kind of not wanting (to be) all the way in with me," Hyder said. "That’s OK, cause I don’t need them to be. I know my teammates, I know the coaches got faith in me to do well, so as long as I know my teammates got my back and my coaches, I’m sure I’ll be OK."